Rapper in the Spotlight: Changmo

This week’s Rapper in the Spotlight is an artist whose feature in Suran’s ‘Wine’ is on my top collabs of all times. Today we are talking about Changmo. 

Ku Chang-Mo (Changmo) is a South Korean rapper who officially debuted in 2016 under the label Ambition Musik. However, before signing with this label he had already released Mixtapes under the label Deoksokids in 2014.

The Beginnings

I find his first mixtape ‘DBSG’ very raw with an underground hip-hop style that is completely different from his recent releases. This old school style really showed off Changmo’s talent, make sure to check it out because it is an absolute gem that needs more recognition.

‘DBSG’ was followed by 2 extended plays (EP) DBSG 2 and DBSG 3 in 2016. They were released under Luminant Entertainment, and the two EP’s are incredible! I especially liked ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Money Make Me Do This’ from DBSG 2, part of the lyrics for the latter go like this:

“(…) The son now gets to resemble his father,
I couldn’t get on it so I run with my barefoot on rail road,
My like is like one way,
I kneeled down again,
It is ok if you don’t touch the ground (…)”

“(…)And then I can’t deny,
I came to this big city to succeed by myself,
Believe in me (…)”

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYNXDxTigeo)

From the second EP, make sure to check out his collab with Beenzino because that track is just fire. Both EPs were produced and written by Changmo himself; you can check them below.

Changmo released his 4th EP ‘M O T O W N’ before signing under Dok2 and The Quiett’s label Ambition Musik later that same year. Check out this release below.

A New Start

Ku Chang-Mo officially debuted in 2017 under Ambition Musik with the special album ‘Getting Money Moment’. Take a look at the music video for the song ‘one more rollie’ featuring Keem Hyo Eun & Hash Swan, this collab is just power.

In the same year, Changmo also had the legendary collab with Suran for her song ‘Wine’, this feature topped charts and won several awards. As I wrote in the intro, it’s also one of my favourite songs of all time. 

In 2018, he was part of the producers in Show Me The Money 777, one of my favourite highlights is his producer stage. Make sure you take the time to appreciate his piano skills.

Changmo released his first studio album ‘Boyhood’ in 2019. His song ‘Meteor’ topped the charts with its catchy vibe and lyrics. I particularly liked the references to some of his previous releases in the MV and lyrics. In early 2020, he dropped the music video for the track ‘Remedy’ featuring Chung Ha.

You can check them both below.

Make sure to keep an eye on this artist, he is incredibly talented and it definitely shows in the quality of his productions. To listen to more of his music and collabs check his Spotify playlist, and also go follow him on instagram (@changmo_), you won’t regret it.